Rating the Stars (from Saskatoon) - Part IV

I am sure you can't wait to read the fourth instalment (yeah, right), but here it goes anyway.

Undoubtedly, Barbara Barr (what a great name), Laurie Priestley and Jan Smith are great choices as numbers seven, eight and nine in this infamous ranking system. These humble three young women would likely not rate themselves so high, but I am sure that you can see that they could easily be number one on this list.

Barb is sensational. She almost literally carried the team during our two days of touring and adjusting to jet lag in Paris. She managed to get each one of the team boarded quickly on a metro train, and then instantly stormed us off the train when she realized it was the wrong one. As she is such a great leader, we followed her blindly, on and off.

Barb is a great encouragement to me. Months before the departure date for our team, she was so ill. But, she persevered as people prayed for her. With God's help and her own determination, she made it and now is such a blessing to the team and to all the people in Niger with whom she is in contact. I am especially greatful for Barb's making sure that David and I are up for the day.

Laurie Priestly brings her sweetness and nursing skills to our team. She is so good at working with kids and was especially moved by how much more that our home church could be doing to help the Schmidt family in Niger. Laurie was especially helpful to me with my various injuries following the camel riding fiasco. She is very gifted and I am so glad that she is part of this team.

Jan Smith is a bundle of energy. She skilfully led soccer camps in Madaoua and kept the missionary kids in Niamey running between classroom sessions, in addition to her regular teaching sessions. Like Laurie, Jan's smiling face and pleasant demeanor is so valuable to the team.

Both Laurie and Jan work with the younger classes and bring their work ethic and pleasantness to help God bless these kids. Laurie and Jan have also shown other talents, such as their superb magic routine during our team's production of Nigerien Idol. I know their act had me spellbound. (Really!)

Please pray for all of these three beautiful women, as they really miss their families back home. (I am sure that their families also really miss them.)

Stay tuned for Part V. It gets even better. (Is this possible?)